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Paul Himter
Paul Himter (2366 - 2403) was an elite soldier of the National Guard, and is known mostly for his central role in the treachery. Himter documented the last months of his life, starting with the beginning of his journey to the Golden Kingdom and ending with his return to Hartenburg, where he died shortly after poisoning himself. Apart from this documentation and a few memories he shared in this documentation, very little is known about him. Paul Himter was born in 2366 AK to a konist priest in the north of Harten. His father not only taught him how to read and write, an exceptional talent in Harten in the 24th century, but also gave him his thirst for knowledge. Paul would later be drafted for the army of the King, where he would serve as an infantrist during the War of Vaz. Due to "prowess and courage with the blade" he was soon promoted and given the title of a light cavalrist. Not knowing how to ride, however, he was only a light cavalrist in title and still fought as a footman. In a later battle, he captured Jerome, a general of the opposing army. Breaking the morale of the enemy, this did not only end the battle; It also earned him the respect of the King and the Golden Kingdom. It was also during his service in the War of Vaz that Himter learned to speak Qumenic and to value the Qu'Menic culture. Shortly after the war, Himter became a candidate for the National Guard, and passed all the tests. Some of his last notes are covering the time of trial. He would soon be known amongst his peer for his swordsmanship with the Zweihaender; Himter boasts he's able to behead two men with one strike. Since none of the other knights seem to be able to read or write, he decides to keep his literacy a secret. Quite succesfully, it seems. Himter is using his time for further practice and continually expanding his horizon in matters of the spirit. Within the next decade he masters the Messer and the Crossbow, and secretly obtains almost every single text and picture describing foreign cultures. He reads about the Hunters, the Nomads, Qu'Men, Ladoir and of course his own country. In 2403, Himter sets off for what he calls his "last journey anyway", possibly referring to his old age and the fact that he will die as the expected result: While his official orders are to bring "a letter of great importance" to the High Emperor and his inoffical orders are to retrieve "a letter of great importance" from the hartian spies in Qu'Men, his real cause is to obtain a special poison to kill the King. Killing within the night, the poison in question knows neither antidote nor suffering. During his voyage, Himter gets lost in the unforgiving desert of Vaz. With all his water and food depleted, Himter is at the brink of surrender; However, he stumbles across a cottage inhabited by an elderly man and his wife, a seemingly ancient woman. As Himter is told later, the elderly man is actually Himum Hassam ol-Ka. He receives food, water, a signet, and some helpful words (among them a name of a muhadi that Himter should visit), as well as a sworn protector who has been travelling through Qu'Men for nearly all his life: the Nomad Mezzar ol-Ka. Passing through various camps and villages, they make their way through the desert - but not without a few obstacles. According to Himter's documentation, it is nearly always Mezzar who gets in trouble and Himter who has to save him, but this has been doubted. Mezzar and Himter go to the Mountains of Vaz, from where they are to proceed to Munawara. During an ambush, they hide in a cavern which turns out to be the gate to Soul Palace. In there, Mezzar is giving the Corbinian Cloak which allows him to fly. They are led out of the labyrinth through another one of the many exits and find themselves on the other side of the mountain pass, far away from the ambushers. Mezzar uses the Corbinian Cloak to fly to Munawara, carrying Himter who is clenching his leg. They meet the high emperor, Himter exchanges the messages, and also tells the emperor the tale of his voyage. The emperor is mightily impressed when Himter tells him of his ecounter with Hassam ol-Ka, as proven by the signet, and when Himter shares the name of the muhadi, the emperor sends his men to find him. They find him, Himter gets the poison he came for, as well as the secret message he was sent to retrieve. Himter and Mezzar turn back for the last step of their shared journey, this time flying and without many obstacles. Mezzar, who will not leave Qu'Men, stops at the border to Harten. Mezzar hands the Corbinian Cloak over to Himter as a gift to hasten the last step of his journey, and Himter gives him his own cloak, bearing the sword symbol of the National Guard. Himter then flies the last few kilometres to the small village where a coach is waiting for him on the first of every month. Here, he starts writing down his journey, and he finishes shortly before the coach arrives. He does, however, add an epilogue while travelling back to Hartenburg. The last portion of Himter's life has been documented by several other persons, including Zentrist Rothar, who depicts it as following: When the coach arrives in Hartenburg in the early hours of morning, Himter is led directly to the king. Both drink and eat. Himter gives the King a letter and starts telling his tale. They drink and eat again, and still Himter keeps telling. And while asking a question or two, the King is mostly listening, silently, like a young child listening to the suspenseful stories of an old grandfather. And they drink and eat for the last time, and the King, old and weary, thanks Himter for this wonderful story. When the king returns to his chambers, armed soldiers enter the room from all sides. To the astonishment of them all, Himter rises into air and disappears in the late evening sky, never to be seen or heard of again. It is only probable that Himter went away to die and take care of the cloak and this book he had written. Maybe hide it for another time, or give it to someone who could make sure the book was safe and could be published for a later time. It has been suggested that Himter visited his parents or siblings, or that he went to the dungeon to see his fellow guardists, only to find they had all been slain. Both of these seem unsatisfying, as Himter's parents might well be dead at this point, Himter never talks about his siblings in his book, and the dungeon was well sealed off and he would have had to fear discovery. Another suggestion is that he went to see Mezzar again, but it seems improbable that he would have made all the way and found him, considering the short lifespan left to Himter and the size of Qu'Men. Possibility is that he did not poison himself, but that's not plausible either. It is clear that the Corbinian Cloak was found later in Harten, but the book was found in the library of Munawara. This only imposes further mysteries on the stories of them both.